(The Star) KUALA PILAH: Discard the “saya tak tau” (I don’t know) attitude and you will get safer streets.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Najib Abd Aziz said the men in blue should not be solely blamed for the high crime rate in some areas, particularly in Johor.

“We have cases where people had actually witnessed a crime right before their eyes but simply refuse to assist in police investigations ... they just "saya tak tau," he said.

He added under such circumstances, the police often took longer time to solve cases.

He was responding to a statement by Parliamentary Caucus on HumanRights and Good Governance chairman Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz on Sunday that police should accept criticism levelled against the force by the public.

Mohd Najib said the fact that the police could solve 40 per cent of all reported cases goes to show that it was doing a good job.

“By Interpol’s standards, it was already considered good if a police force could solve 25 per cent of all cases. We are close to doubling that,” he said.

Mohd Najib was speaking to reporters after opening the national level Cadet Police Camp in Ulu Bendol near here.

He said if the people were prepared to assist the police, nine out of 10 reported cases could be easily resolved.

The people, he said, had no reason to fear assisting the police as their identities were always kept confidential.

“The public also expects us to solve cases immediately as they see it on television. It is impossible because criminals have become more advanced these days,” he said.

Mohd Najib said in the west and developed countries, people would voluntarily come forward to help the police.

Asked why simple procedures such as chemistry and post mortem reports could take months to be prepareddelayed, Mohd Najib said this was not necessarily true.

“There may be isolated cases. Every department has their own set of procedures and Client’s Charter to adhere to and I don’t think that is a widespread problem,” he said.

Sometimes, the delays were caused due to the complexity of a case.

Earlier, Mohd Najib said there were 52 rape cases involving students in the first five months of this year.

For the whole of last year, 96 cases were reported.

He said 3,350 students were arrested for various criminal offences last year.

Of these, 1,831 were involved in criminal activities, 620 for extortion/causing hurt and 587 for motorcycle thefts and 322 other thefts.

The police must recognise and put a stop to the ‘fear of crime’ that has gripped Johor Bahru and many parts of the country, said Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang.

“Let Johor Bharu be a national test case whether it is possible to wipe out the fear of crime which is haunting the daily life of the people of the city or the fear of crime will worsen and spread to other parts of the country with the police losing the long-term war against crime,” he said in a statement today.

Lim said that up until 20 years ago, the “fear of crime never existed” in Johor Bahru and in most parts of the country.

He claimed that the authorities had failed to keep abreast with the rapid socio-economic developments and changes in metropolitan areas where residents become victims of crime and the ‘fear of crime’.

“Johor Bahru outranks all the other urban centres in the country as the capital of crime where fear of crime haunting the daily lives of its residents is most palpable like a permanent haze in the city’s air,” he added.